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Permalink Reply by Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) on August 10, 2010 at 10:16am

The belt and disk sander isn't really used for fine operations; you just want to take a lot of material off very quickly. I only ever bother to put 60 or 80 grit on mine. Everything else I do by hand.

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Permalink Reply by Don Thompson on August 10, 2010 at 2:06pm

Yep, that's my vote, fast removal.
Don

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Permalink Reply by Michael R Cossey on August 10, 2010 at 10:26pm

Thanks , just the info I was looking for, now I dont need to pick up a large variety of grits......

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Permalink Reply by Paul Stephen Eklund on August 11, 2010 at 12:30pm

Be one quick way to shape the back of a neck! I've only used a belt sander once. Like wiser folks have stated, removed way to much to quickly. As far as the paper goes itself, like any other tool you get what you pay for. Don't get cheap belts. Having one come apart on ya could damage your project. Also like any other sand paper, better paper lasts longer and does a better job. As far as grit goes that depends on what your doing. Because of the amount of wood this thing will eat I'd start with an 80 grit. and go lightly with it till you get the feel. I've seen some jigs set up to do radius's using belt sanders on line somewhere. Kinda elaborate setups.

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Permalink Reply by Michael R Cossey on August 11, 2010 at 1:15pm

Thanks for the extra info, much appreciated, yea the belt on the sander does look aggressive, so a light touch is in order. I may have to think of making my own jig, thanks for putting the idea in my head......Mike

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Permalink Reply by Skeesix on August 12, 2010 at 4:05am

I let the belt sander do as much work as possible - I have coarse, medium and fine belts, which are 50, 80 and 120 respectively. From there I would hand sand if necessary with 120, 220, and possibly 360. Garnet paper (orange color) is the best for that.

The belt sander belt I have is the Ace Hardware house brand called Gator Grit. They're butt jointed aluminum oxide and seem to work just fine. I buy extra 50 grits when I'm buying belts because I use those the most, so they wear out quicker.

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Permalink Reply by Michael R Cossey on August 12, 2010 at 12:47pm

Thanks for the info, didn't think of Ace Hardware, we do have one of those.....I did pick up some 120 grit for sanding smaller pieces like the bridge at Home Depot. But for some reason I didn't think of wear and buying extra belts. Par for the course for me........Thanks again.....

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